Howdy friends. For this halloween, we are taking a step back in time to explore the haunting world of vampire burials. Mysterious archaeological sites around the world highlight the frightening world of superstitions once held around vampires and other entities. We will explore the origins of these superstitions, how they changed through time, and the real archaeology that shows evidence of these beliefs in practice.

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    VIDEO CHAPTERS:
    00:00 Intro
    01:36 Vampires
    05:00 Sundown
    07:45 The Vampire of Lugnano
    11:20 The Revenants
    18:05 The Rise of the Vampire
    20:18 Vampire Hysteria
    29:00 Causus Vampiri
    32:45 The Accused
    42:04 Alternative Vampire Stratagies
    45:23 Fear of the Unknown
    51:22 Credits

    References

    Brennan, Emily. 2016. “The Archaeology of…Vampires – GRAVE THOUGHTS.” grave thoughts. https://gravethoughtsblog.com/2016/10/31/the-archaeology-of-vampires/.

    Cascone, Sarah. 2022. “In a 17th-Century Polish Grave, Archaeologists Have Discovered the Shackled Bones of a Woman Once Believed to Be a Vampire.” *Art Net*, 09 07, 2022. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/in-a-17th-century-polish-grave-archaeologists-have-discovered-the-bones-of-a-woman-believed-to-be-a-vampire-2171262.

    Flynn, Daniel. 2009. “”Vampire” unearthed in Venice plague grave.” *Reuters*, March 12, 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/science/vampire-unearthed-in-venice-plague-grave-idUSTRE52B4RU/.

    Ghose, Tia. 2014. “Mystery of ‘Vampire’ Burials Solved.” *Live Science*, November 26, 2014. https://www.livescience.com/48924-mystery-of-vampire-burials-solved.html.

    Gray, Richard. 2014. “Polish ‘vampires’ were killed by CHOLERA: Tests reveal suspected bloodsuckers were actually early victims of the epidemic.” *Daily Mail*, November 26, 2014. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2850623/Polish-vampires-killed-CHOLERA-Tests-reveal-suspected-bloodsuckers-actually-early-victims-epidemic.html.

    Gregoricka, Lesley, Tracy Betsinger, Amy Scott, and Marek Polcyn. 2014. “Apotropaic Practices and the Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland.” *PLOS ONE*, (11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0113564.g002.

    Jarus, Owen. 2018. “Child ‘Vampire’ Was Buried 1,550 Years Ago in Italy.” *Live Science*, Oct 14, 2018. https://www.livescience.com/63824-child-vampire-burial-italy.html.

    Nuwer, Rachel. 2014. “”Vampire Grave” in Bulgaria Holds a Skeleton With a Stake Through Its Heart.” *Smithsonian Magazine*, October 13, 2014. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/vampire-grave-bulgaria-holds-skeleton-stake-through-its-heart-180953004/.

    PBS. 2004. “Vampire Legend | Vampire-Slaying Ritual in Romania | Secrets of the Dead.” *PBS*, 2004. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/vampire-legend-vampire-slaying-ritual-romania/2343/.

    Polcyn, Marek, and Elżbieta Gajda. 2015. “Buried with Sickles: Early Modern Interments from Drawsko, Poland.” *Antiquity* 89 (348): 1373–87. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2015.129.

    Radio Poland. 2013. “Vampire graveyard found in Poland?” *Radio Poland*, 12 07, 2013. http://archiwum.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/141129.

    Radley, Dario. 2022. “Remains of a “female vampire” have been unearthed in Poland.” *Archaeology News*, 09 04, 2022. https://archaeologymag.com/2022/09/remains-of-a-female-vampire-pinned-to-the-ground-have-been-unearthed-in-poland/.

    Radley, Dario. 2024. “Medieval vampire burial unearthed in Chełm, Poland.” *Archaeology News*, September 12, 2024. https://archaeologymag.com/2024/09/medieval-vampire-burial-unearthed-in-chelm/.

    Rapp, Joshua. 2017. “Burials Unearthed in Poland Open the Casket on The Secret Lives of Vampires.” *Smithsonian Magazine*, October 27, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/deviant-burials-poland-open-casket-secret-lives-vampires-180966970/.

    Schofield, Matthew. 2010. “Romanian villagers decry police investigation into vampire slaying.” *McClatchy DC*, July 7, 2010. https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24587203.html.

    48 Comments

    1. NGL, "sewing needles in the belly button" made me squirm something fierce.

      And yeah, I don't think these superstitions are all that crazy compared to the modern ones that persist. Like flat earth. Vaccine denial. Conservatism. Arguably, Religion.

    2. Actually… We learn about bell beaker culture in a highschool in Poland… Even more about Lusatian culture as our largest archeology site is Biskupin. But bell beak as well

    3. One test you can do on the coat to find out the age and if it is likely a reproduction is to shine an ultraviolet light on it. Nylon thread will light up. I have a friend that collects old military patches and that is what he does to determine the age. It could still be made from 100% cotton but it is a data point.

    4. serbian here, i think you pronounced it pretty well! the only mistake is that the r should be rolled, but it's still understandable anyways!

    5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TID2kc8yb9Q&t=3s

      Hey Milo, long time viewer here, I found this on my home page today, and well. After looking into it a found a few people using it as a "sign" of Atlantis. When it clearly just looks like a shale formation. Possibly getting it's yellow color from sulfur. They never took any samples. I found an article that says they explain it in the captions, but I found no such explanations in the captions. I found them in the description. Which we all know no one reads. Honestly part of me is concerned that this may be used by future google-debunker-deniers as "evidence" Like Hancock and his Bimini Road.

      (edit: spelling)

    6. “Myths are not stories that are untrue. Rather they are tales that don't fit neatly into the historical record which serve as a foundation to a culture.”

      – Vernika Gupta

    7. Excellent video young man! Entertaining and educational. Spot-on regarding many historical facts. A video that restores my faith that at least some youngsters are still learning a proper education. Or at the least didn't rip out school book pages to either smoke or wipe the rear end with. Bravo, well done! You've earned another subscriber! Thumbs up!

    8. Fascinating video, but I have to take issue with your constant efforts at bashing the Judeo-Christian tradition. Every culture over time has sought to spread its own belief system, often at the expense of the existing cultures. The fact that Christianity has been more successful than most is just evidence of it being more successful at doing so than most. There are many other successful religions which have spread their ideology by violence, such as Islam, which has probably been more violent than Christianity ever was, and arguably continues to be so.

      I really admire your scientific content, but have to take issue with your constant "West bashing".

    9. Yay captions are back!! (I felt like they were perhaps not auto-gen lately. Could be wrong.) However, i really do think they should include the swears Milo says. Theres no reason to not include those. (Except like, maybe demonetization?? But he's saying them out loud un-censored so…?)
      They're a part of Milo's speech pattern and that's totally fine/normal. Like, they're apart of mine, most of the time.
      Just a thought 🙂
      Anywho, love me some vampireness :3

    10. I’ve never thought about Milo’s appearance since the content is always so great, but man his vampire get up gave me feelings I didn’t expect to feel while watching this. 😍 He suddenly became gorgeous.

    11. I love your content so much Milo. xD The comedy that just writes itself is absolutely hysterical and I get such a blast watching you just doing you things but also sharing interesting history snippets! Keep doing what you do!

      Much love from Sweden!

    12. Holy shit Milo you ACED that Serbian name !!!! As a Serb knowing there "vampires" originated from that was fucking AMAZING, as i expected you were gonna butcher it!

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